You're the Answer to a Guy Like Me
by heartkakashi
Summary: Hatake Kakashi had been walking on the dangerous line between life and death, until fate decided to step in, nudging him towards the side he belonged to. A story about a man in his thirties who had a late start in understanding the true purpose of life. A post-war Kakasaku fic. Rated M for many reasons.
1. As Fate Would Have It

**You're the Answer to a Guy Like Me**

Rated: M for mature language and sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Author's Note: I can't believe I'm actually posting a story. I am a die hard fan of the Naruto series and love anything to do with our favorite masked ninja. Thanks to those who clicked onto the link and are giving this story a chance. Please Read & Review.

Also major thanks to **meelomango** for being the most amazing beta in the whole wide world. If you didn't put that gun to my head I wouldn't be writing. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 1: As Fate Would Have It

* * *

Heavy breaths echoed through the quiet forest that was beautifully painted with red. The scent of death lingered. The moon lit the scene like a spot light. Silver hair was dulled down by dirt; blood could be seen, it belonged to the main character of this _play_.

The sound of hissing from burnt flesh could be heard quietly and smoke could be seen at his finger tips. Chest heaving as he dropped to his knee, he pulled his right arm out of the other man's chest cavity. With a heavy thud the body fell over on top of other countless bodies.

The silver haired man fell backward, out of breath and out of energy. Dark blood red eyes stared at the moon above. Who knows how long he had been fighting for. Most of his muscles seem to have been torn from excess chakra usage.

He attempted to wipe the blood from his eyes. He didn't have the strength or ability to lift a finger. A shredded piece of cloth covered the lower part of his face. His mask was mostly destroyed during the battle, revealing to the world an amount of his face that it had never seen. The remains covered parts of his face except for his mouth and chin. He was glad for that, he didn't need something covering his mouth while he was suffocating. His breath was leaving him behind and he knew he would never be able to catch up.

His left front torso had a huge gaping wound. A collapsed lung was probably the cause for his suffocation. He suffered from many other wounds and splatters of blood covered him. There he laid alone in a puddle of fresh scarlet-red blood that was a coagulation of his and others. His heart was beating in his ear, thumping a slow, lethargic pace. Too slow.

Kakashi knew something was wrong. Maybe this was finally the end for him. The pool of blood he laid in was growing. There was no way he could apply pressure to his wounds to stop the bleeding. At this rate, he would die of a hemorrhage before anything. He was sure that this was it.

This battle scene developed from a mission gone awry. It was a S-rank quick infiltration mission to steal a very important scroll. A group of rogue nin developed after the war and were less than pleased to stay in alliance with everyone . The substance of the scroll had the rogue nin future plans of attack. Konoha had to have confirmation that they were indeed a threat. It turned out that this specific mission was a trap. They were expecting someone to come after this _important _scroll. However, no one expected that Konoha would send a shinobi of such caliber.

Due to a certain infamous Copy Ninja they had met their demise. Though successful in destroying this threatening group, Kakashi believed he had over done it.

Hatake Kakashi was known world-wide for being an extremely talented shinobi. Known for copying over a thousand jutsu, he was not someone to be taken lightly. He was one of the last few in this world who possessed a Sharingan. After the Fourth Shinobi War, talk of his prowess had increased. He was one of the main reason the war was so successful in the first place.

Kakashi, albeit a formidable adversary, taking on twenty plus ninjas all at once, alone, was extremely taxing even for the Copy Nin. These men weren't weaklings either, most of them could be found in the bingo book.

He coughed out in pain, spewing blood. The silence of the forest was welcoming. He could relax now that there were no more threats.

He breathed in the smell of burnt flesh mixed with the deep scent of the earth and strangely was overcome with a sense of comfort. Finally, he allowed his tired, overused eyes to close, his stiff, clenched muscles lax, his breathing slowed.

In an instant, a disconcerting pain shot up through his eyes, a pain he had never felt before. His eyes shot open in shock. Still, he was not able to move his hands or feet, extreme exhaustion had taken over his beaten body. His eyes could barely stay open and...that _pain_.

What an excruciating pain. His vision was blurry and the white moonlight and trees were colored red, probably from the blood staining his vision.

It was so bizarre, his vision was flickering on and off, like static from a lost connection. The bright red moon in his vision began to swirl with black and grey. What he saw was an abstract painting of the sky a mixture of black, grey and red, with the moon being the focal point. The world before him was losing its life in color and began to crumble. It was like looking through an unfocused lens with the outer edge blurring. The pain felt like it was slicing through his head. Every dizzying bout brought on a throbbing, burning pain behind his left eye. With every blink, the world seem to dissipate before him.

He decided to close his eyes for the last time. Almost welcoming the end. _Almost_. Yes, he was tired, but as the faces of all his dearest friends flashed before him, he decided that he needed to live just a little while longer. But he knew it was all in fate's hands now as he slowly slipped out of conscious.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Whoosh...Beep. Beep. Whoosh. _What was this horrible sound?

His eardrums were vibrating as a headache began to develop. Where was he, the last memory he had was a red moon disappearing before his eyes, the smell of blood and rotting flesh and pain...excruciating pain behind his eyes.

How could he ever forget the smell of bleach and other various cleaning supplies? The hospital. It was amazing that he had survived that. He had thought he was done for.

His eyes began twitching as his body began to awaken, but something was wrong. Kakashi's eyes flung open.

Nothing.

Were his eyes even open or was this just an extra dark room with no windows? It was pitch black. As Kakashi tried to take a breath he felt an obstruction; there was a tube down his throat. With every breath he tried to take he began to suffocate. Not again. He tried to pull out the obstruction in his throat, but no matter how much his mind pushed, his arms would not move.

No sight, no movement. Panic set in.

The beeping sounds began to speed up intensely as he gasped for air. Kakashi felt the door swing open, where was the door? Where was the light? He couldn't see anything and, on the brighter side, he couldn't breathe. _Great_. Kami sure did love to play games. What a shitty situation to wake up to.

Suddenly, he felt someone put a hand to his chest and a gentle voice told him he needed to calm down.

"Sensei, you are on a ventilator, you need to calm down and breathe with the ventilator until we remove the tubing."

The voice sounded so familiar as it echoed around Kakashi. That voice, the smell of strawberries filled his nostrils. It was Sakura. From the sound of her voice, Kakashi's panic dispersed.

Sakura's voice was calm while she repeated her instructions, "One, two, breathe."

Finally he was able to match the ventilator's breaths. He could not speak and the stress from his suffocation had worn him out completely. He felt her small hands tighten around his, but still a face was not seen. He can hear her calling out to him, but her voice seemed further away now. Then he was out again.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. _Again, Kakashi awoken to the sound of the hospital monitors. Waking up this time was more pleasant than the last, that was for sure. He laid there processing all the events that lead up to this moment. Slowly he assessed himself.

All his organs seemed to be mostly intact and functioning. But there seemed to be one thing that stood out to him when he first opened his eyes, that didn't quite work up to his standards.

_Okay...I'm blind._ Kakashi thought to himself.

He knew his eyes were open, but he couldn't see a damn thing. Kakashi felt strips of warmth on his face, sun rays gently beaming down on him from where he laid.

His sense of hearing and smell seem to have heightened. He can hear the hustle and bustle of the hospital workers in the hallway, the breeze outside his window over the annoying noise from his monitor. His nose caught the whiff of fresh flowers, approximately two feet to his right. Daffodils to be exact. The clothes he wore felt soft, he could feel every thread. He felt his left eye pulsating in it's socket, a heavy pain spreading from it.

How long had he been here?

His throat felt raw but the obstruction from the tube had disappeared. He hadn't noticed earlier that his face was being covered by a loose cloth in place of his normal mask. He was glad that someone considered his privacy.

Being in a hospital brought an uneasiness to Kakashi. He knew he needed to get out of there.

_Move._ A look of concentration swept over his face as he continued to will his finger to move. Nothing.

_Yup, no doubt about it. I can't move either_, thought Kakashi. He let out a sigh. He slowly closed his eyes enjoying the sunlight.

There was nothing he could do but wait.

* * *

Sakura cradled her cup of hot coffee as she took in its deep aroma. She really needed to wake up. She had pull an all nighter at work just to keep a close eye on Kakashi. Just in case.

For four months, she had been an insomniac, thanks to her sensei. Everyone had been worried sick over the Copy Nin. The memories of from the night Kakashi was brought in was fresh in her mind. His body was torn apart and covered in blood. He was in extreme critical condition when they had brought him in.

Luckily, fate allowed Sakura to be there when Kakashi was brought in. Sakura normally would refuse the grave yard shift, but she thought it was about time she deserved some "me" time. After living in the hospitals for year she knew it was for the best. But Shizune had begged her endlessly that she needed just this one night off and thank Kami she was there or Kakashi would've been a goner.

When the reconnaissance team brought him in, Sakura was sure he was already dead. In matter of seconds Kakashi would've slipped right out of her fingers if she didn't keep fighting for his life. It was obvious that Kakashi had been found many hours later after he suffered from extreme blood loss. He was at the brink of death and Sakura felt powerless. Regardless, she gave it her all and pushed to save him. It took approximately six hours for his stabilization. Due to multiple blood transfusion and of course Sakura's skillful medic hands, she was able to put his organs back together and Kakashi lived, though as a vegetable.

The waiting game began. Brain wave activities assured everyone that he was not brain dead.

Sakura had never seen Kakashi in such a weakened state. His normally powerful presence was nowhere to be seen. All she saw was a lifeless, almost frail, body as she watched over him for months. Towards the end of Kakashi's coma, his normally muscular form had become mildly soft due to the lack of exercise and being fed by a tube daily. She was sure he wouldn't be too happy with being gaunt and weak for the first in his life..

He laid there day in and day out on a ventilator for four whole months and finally, he woke up. Even though his awakening wasn't pleasant, but he was conscious now and Sakura couldn't thank Kami anymore than she already had.

"How is he?" Asked Naruto, with a yawn, as he leaned over the counter of the nurses station. Naruto came to the hospital immediately after hearing news of Kakashi's waking. He looked tired, his blonde hair disheveled and dark shadows were forming below his eyes. He hadn't slept after returning from his mission earlier this morning.

Sakura began explaining the early morning events to Naruto. "He woke up." she said with a sad smile, "He fought the ventilator for a bit, but we were able to calm him down. He's been out since."

Sakura could see the sadness and relief in Naruto's eyes. They both had been worried sick over their old sensei. Naruto came by as often as he could over the past four months. Sakura and Naruto wouldn't know what to do if they had lost him.

Sakura hastily looked at her clock and began gathering up her files. She noticed the worry in Naruto's eyes.

"Cheer up Naruto, he's back. I'm about to go check up on him right now. Want to come?" asked Sakura beginning to walk towards Kakashi's room.

Naruto gave her a little smile and a nod and fell into steps with Sakura as they made their way down the hall.

They both quietly entered the room. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining through the window. The room was lit up with natural light, encasing Kakashi.

As soon as they walked in, they noticed Kakashi's opened eyes. Naruto lunged onto Kakashi with a big hug, tears at the corner of his eyes. A tiny smile was on his lips at Naruto's affection. Sakura was so happy, she had to fight her tears as well.

"Welcome back Kakashi-sensei. How are you feeling?" asked Sakura.

"I'm blind," Kakashi's raspy voice said casually. "Oh, and paralyzed."

* * *

Kakashi wondered what went through his students head when he told them he was blind and paralyzed. He was sure their facial expressions were priceless. After a moment of silence and a ton of questions and exams following, Sakura and Naruto had left him to rest.

Laying there under a stream of sunlight, Kakashi was awaiting the result of their examination. At least he was still able to feel things like the sun ray on his face. His mind mulled over the current situation.

Blind.

Paralyzed.

Luckily whatever was wrong with him it didn't affect him from the neck up.

He never really thought about the consequence of using the Sharingan. Kakashi knew what a toll it took on his body and he knew it was even more debilitating to him since he was not built like an Uchiha. Power comes with a price. The Sharingan was a gift and a burden.

Kakashi's Sharingan represented just that. A gift given by a friend.

Obito. Another sad memory.

Kakashi had lived a life full of experiences. Experiences, most were sins. He wasn't sure how he would cope with the reality of Obito, his best friend and hero. He based his entire life on Obito and wanted to live according to his way. Yet there was Obito, cynical and pessimistic. He had lost hope for the world, his bright-eyed dreams were no longer there and all that was left was this entity of darkness. And that darkness became a threat to all of Kakashi's precious friends and comrades.

It had been six years since the Fourth Shinobi World War. That war had brought on a peace that the world had never experienced before. But this war did not leave Kakashi unscathed. Kakashi knew this war had broken something within. It may be because he realized all those years he spent at the memorial site, the place where he spoke to Obito everyday, had all been in vain.

The person who taught him the principle of being a good human being, to value his friends and live to protect them, became the bad guy. And that did not sit too well with Kakashi. He would never admit it, but his heart was indeed broken.

Though broken up inside, Kakashi's principles did not change. He was still devout to protecting his village. So he gave himself to protecting Konoha and the peace that was gained by so many lost lives.

Though peace was here, there were still many people against it. Of course these rogue forces weren't that big of a threat when they were going against an allied shinobi force.

Kakashi decided to rejoin ANBU. Countless S-rank missions were needed to keep him busy and it allowed him to avoid wallowing in his thoughts.

Life was difficult for Kakashi. All the hardships he had endured during his thirty-six years of life had definitely made it a little hard to cope with. But he would never die on purpose. He would leave it in the hands of fate as per usual.

He didn't consider himself depress or suicidal, but deep down inside somewhere, mainly during life threatening situations, Kakashi hoped Kami would answer his prayers and put him out of his misery.

Kami wasn't listening. Maybe that was a good thing.

Here he was, not dead, but blind and unable to use his body. It was almost a laugh out loud kind of situation. He wondered where fate was taking him now. Obviously, Kakashi couldn't live his life the way he use to.

He knew he should've taken heed of Tsunade's warning before he left for this particular mission.

Tsunade had been lecturing him about overworking and she expressed that he had been very careless lately with his own life. Kakashi didn't really view it as being careless, he wanted to complete his missions and destroy any threat to Konoha. He made that his personal duty and he would always risk his life for it.

Kakashi was aware that people were worried about him, but to Kakashi, he was just doing what he does best, being a ninja. Avoiding reality was another strength of his but that didn't lead him to a good place either.

Here he laid awake to reality; a paralyzed, blind reality.

* * *

Sakura sat outside Kakashi's room waiting for Tsunade to finish with her Sensei. She had been out here for about half an hour, listening to her Shishou lecturing Kakashi for being reckless. With a sigh, she continued looking through Kakashi's medical chart.

Kakashi's Sharingan had gone out of control, sucking away all or most of his chakra. The Sharingan started malfunctioning causing a disruption and the little amount of chakra left is his life force energy, supplying his vital organs. Thus explaining why he was unable to move and why his sight had gone. It's amazing that he was conscious at the moment and coherent.

"How can we fix this?" Sakura asked out loud, speaking to no one in particular. She was chewing on the tip of her pen trying to wrap her mind around Kakashi's situation. Suddenly a thought popped into her mind as she was about to take note of it the door beside her flung open. Out walked the Hokage arms crossed, eyes closed and brows furrowed.

"Sakura, see me after you do a check up on your useless Sensei." Tsunade stated, annoyance written all over her face. With that she left, her jacket flowing behind her. Staring at her Shishou's back she grabbed all of her paperwork and peaked into Kakashi's room. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous.

He was laying there with eyes closed sunbathing in a ray of sunshine. Maybe she should come back later.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's voice called out with a rasp.

"Kakashi-sensei, sorry to wake you, I'm just here to do a check up." Sakura replied brightly though it sounded forced. She wished she had the ability to cheer him up. He gave her a little nod giving her the okay to begin.

She began a basic physical assessment. Using her pen light, she checked his pupils to make sure they didn't show any signs of more damage. She did her neuromuscular checks to see if he may have gained some movement. Negative, he was still immobile.

Pulling out her stethoscope. "Okay after listening to your lungs I'll be done. Let's make sure they have healed properly." She placed the bell of the stethoscope on his chest and began listening to his breath sounds.

They couldn't deny the uncomfortable aura that surrounded them. Throughout the exam Kakashi was silent. His silence was unnerving to Sakura. He felt tense. She felt tense.

It was overall a very unnatural check-up.

Her eyes studied him once again, wondering if the carefree expression on his face was just an act.

Sakura couldn't remember the last time she actually saw Kakashi. If she recalled correctly, it was close to a year before he was brought in that night, almost dead. And even before that, they were only mere acquaintances.

She shook her head slightly, trying to shake the unnerving feeling she had towards Kakashi. It was better to ponder on the current situation, mainly what Tsunade had in plan for the man before her.

Finally, he broke the uncomfortable silence, "I'm a civilian now." The sound of his voice was low, rumbling within his chest. Sakura pulled off her stethoscope a look of shock covered her face. She studied his face, his eyes were still closed and his shoulders were slumped. He looked like he was sunbathing. If he was bothered by this he didn't show it.

"What?" Sakura didn't know what to say. Kakashi, one of the most powerful shinobi she knew is now a civilian? That didn't sound plausible whatsoever.

"Hokage-sama believes I've been too reckless and decided that the only way I can appreciate my life is to live as a civilian from now on." he leisurely stated, obviously reiterating the Hokage's words. He was always so hard to read. Kakashi always had his guard up, even now when he was so enfeebled. But she knew this idea did not sit too well with him, he couldn't be okay with this...right?

Her thoughts...her Shishou had lost her mind.

"Let me talk to her. I already began coming up with ideas on how we can fix this. Rest and let me clear things up." Sakura abruptly stated. She leaned in about to give him a hug but she awkwardly veered her hands to his shoulders giving both an uneasy squeeze.

_Did I just..._ She violently shook her head scolding herself inwardly for being so strange yet again.

Without another word she walked out leaving him to his thoughts.

Kakashi let out a dejected sigh. He had to admit, he was feeling a little depressed. He wasn't sure how to proceed with the idea and with Sakura acting strange it made him feel unsettled. He knew that squeeze on his shoulders were suppose to be a comfort measure, but Sakura was being quite awkward. Her awkwardness and Tsunade's decision left him in a strange state.

One word bothered him from Tsunade's scolding..._happiness._

Basically the Hokage told him even if by some miracle he is completely cured, without _happiness_ he will remain a civilian.

Yes, it was difficult to process the idea of being just a civilian, but happiness sounded even worse. Kakashi was fully content with his life prior to this mishap, though he may not describe it as being happy.

Happiness had always seemed out of reach. He would never deny happiness if it came to him, but he never strived for it either. Actually, he didn't know how or where to seek it.

His frustration was growing quickly as he tried to think of what makes him happy. He didn't understand why the Hokage thought he was missing something in his life. He had everything he needed in the world. His books made him happy. His friends were a positive in his life.

_Where do I begin?_ Thought Kakashi, releasing another dispirited sigh. At that moment, he really wished he had his greatest companion, Icha Icha Paradise. Daydreaming about his books enhanced his depression, now realizing that he wouldn't be able to read them even if he wanted to.

Boredom set in as he laid there pensive. Suddenly a knock was heard.

* * *

"Shishou!" Sakura swung the door of the Hokage's office open. Shutting it behind her quickly she turned to face the Hokage. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, her head resting on her left hand as she swirled her shot of sake with the other. Piles of paperwork were stacked around messily on her desk

"Yes, Sakura? How was Kakashi's check up?" she stated with boredom.

"A _civilian_, Shishou? Kakashi-sensei is one of the top shinobi in Konoha. How can you strip him of his title as a ninja? We can fix this. I know there is a way for him to recover." stated Sakura trying to hold back her anger.

"That man has been so reckless lately. I'm sorry, but I don't want him to be found dead in a ditch somewhere just because he decided to sacrifice his life for Konoha." Tsunade calmly stated taking her shot.

She looked up at Sakura as she began pouring another drink, obviously tired from her workload, "Sakura you should be the most worried about your Sensei's well-being. What you said is true, he is one of the most elite shinobi in this world. That is why I need him to fix himself before I can ever think to send him out on another mission. I cannot afford to lose him."

That silenced Sakura. This is the first time the Hokage had ever outwardly expressed her concern for Kakashi. Tsunade was very careful about letting on that she cared about certain people more than others. She was the Hokage after all and she definitely couldn't play favorites. But as her apprentice and close companion, Sakura knew Tsunade had a soft spot for those she cared about

The Hokage's statement made her see Kakashi in a whole new light. Fix himself? Sakura was aware that Kakashi had experienced much misfortune throughout his life, but she never really saw him as someone who gave in to the sufferings of depression and definitely never being careless with his life.

Maybe it was a little naïve of her to see Kakashi as someone who could never be brought down by the pains that life gave, but he had never once allowed her to see that side of him. She realized that she had been living in obliviousness to the fact that Kakashi was indeed human.

"I'll take your silence as an agreement to my decision. Now, I've been doing some research on Kakashi's condition." said Tsunade.

"The problem here is the Sharingan." stated Sakura.

"Exactly. The Sharingan is in tatters." said Tsunade. She began digging through a pile of scrolls to her right. She pulled one out and tossed it to Sakura.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile now. I believe once the Sharingan is healed it'll put a stop to the chakra drainage." said Sakura staring at the scroll in her hand.

Tsunade wasn't shock that Sakura figured this all out, she was after all her apprentice for a reason.

"My thoughts exactly. That's why you'll be in charge of him. The scroll I just gave to you holds most of the village's documentation about the Sharingan. Familiarize yourself with it and develop a game plan for his recovery."

With a nod Sakura placed the scroll in her front pocket.

"Treat it like a babysitting gig Sakura. We all know how hard he pushes himself. Your role in this is to watch him, ensuring that he will follow all instructions without any resistance. We both know how he likes to over do things, he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if he listened." stated Tsunade.

"So make sure he listens! And if he opposes, let him know that I'll deal with him myself and it won't be a pretty." threatened the Hokage.

Sakura was very familiar with how Tsunade dealt with people who didn't follow her instructions and it was definitely unpleasant.

"Shishou does Kakashi-sensei really need me to... _babysit_ him?" asked Sakura, confused.

"Yes Sakura, you're in charge of anything and everything that has to do with Hatake Kakashi. Now get out of here. I have a lot of things to catch up on." said Tsunade, glaring at the pile of paper work on her desk.

Sakura politely bowed to her Shishou and left without another word.

* * *

The term babysit didn't sit too well with Sakura. She didn't know how to go about _babysitting _Kakashi. She was very well aware of how stubborn her old sensei was when it came to being a patient. He didn't like following medical advice and was always determine to do things on his own. Sakura knew she had to take it upon herself to make sure he followed her plans accordingly.

Her mind was reeling with ideas on how to begin treatment. She knew that the Sharingan was very intricate, unlike healing a normal eye, it would most likely be more complicated on her part. She needed to have precise control over her chakra while working with the Sharingan. Since this was her first time treating a kekkei genkai like the Sharingan she knew she had to do some intense studying and research.

"Sakura-san?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see the nurse in charge of Kakashi.

"Is everything alright with Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura. She hoped he didn't fall into another coma.

"No, he is doing fine, it's just that...um...we've been getting many complaints about the noise level coming from his room. Since he's just woken up none of us wanted to interrupt. We were hoping that you would be able to tell them to quiet down a little." said the nurse with an uncomfortable laugh.

"Them?" Sakura asked. She didn't need to wait for an answer since she already knew who _they _were. With an annoyed frown she headed towards the unit Kakashi was in.

* * *

Kakashi let out a little chuckle, something he hadn't done in awhile. It was nice to have some company to take his mind off of all the serious stuff he had been dealing with.

Gai, Naruto and Sai had come to visit. If he remembered correctly, according to Sakura, Gai had been coming in basically everyday to keep him company. Though Gai is...well Gai, he was one of Kakashi's closest friend. They've been friends or as Gai would say _rivals_, since their childhood years.

At the moment Gai was bawling at the sight of Kakashi alive and awake. He had been crying the moment he entered the room. Naruto and Sai had gotten into another one of their routine arguments.

It was nice to see that everything was still the same even though in reality it was all so different.

"Sai! I swear if you make a joke about my junk one more time I am going to kill you!" yelled Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I was only being honest. I thought that was how friends were suppose to interact?" stated Sai in his same calm and cool demeanor.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" shouted Gai, finally ending his tears of happiness. This startled everyone in the room, ending both Naruto and Sai's bickering.

Kakashi felt Gai grasp his hands tightly. They were wet from all his tears. "I will be by your side every hour, every minute, every second, day and night. I will not leave you alone until you are better. I will feed you, bathe you, clothe you! I'll do everything for my eternal rival. I will be there to make sure you are okay! You can count on it." Kakashi was positive Gai was in his usual thumbs-up pose.

Kakashi shivered inwardly at the thought of Gai being with him at every waking moment. He felt drops of tears and a hot breath blew against his face. Gai must be mere inches from his face.

Damn it.

There was no other choice. He needed to let him down nicely, "Gai...I don't want you aroun-"

"What are you guys doing in here!?"

It was Sakura and she didn't sound too happy. The room was silent, Kakashi could tell by the cold, dense atmosphere that the boys were afraid. That Sakura always knew how to instill fear in these guys mainly when she had a powerful punch to back her up.

"Do you have any idea what a ruckus you guys have been making? This is a hospital for sick people and they need peace and quiet!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." pouted Naruto, staring at the floor with his hands behind his back. Sai was silent, with a feint, eerie smile curved upwards with closed eyes, as he innocently faced her way.

"And look at poor Kakashi-sensei. Why is he all wet?" asked Sakura. The upper half of his hospital gown and the cloth covering the lower half of his face was drenched. She can feel the vein in her head throbbing. "I swear, if you guys are not out of my sigh-"

"Oh no! Look at the time! Kaka-sensei we have to go! Rest-up and we'll visit you tomorrow." interrupted Naruto immediately. He knew when Sakura was ticked off it was best to give her some space. Nervously scratching the back of his head he made a gesture to Gai and Sai to follow along. The three men exited the room in a prompt fashion.

Sakura squeezed the bridge of her nose. Those boys were always causing a disturbance everywhere they went. She wasn't surprise they didn't refrain themselves even if they were in the hospital.

"Sensei, you must be exhausted." asked Sakura as she headed toward the cupboard that held all of the clean hospital gowns.

"Hmm, since I'm stuck in bed all I do is sleep, I'm, in fact, pretty wide awake." Kakashi lightly stated. Sakura smiled, he was beginning to sound like his normal self again. Maybe company was all he needed.

"Is it alright if I change your gown and mask?" She asked.

"That would be nice, I didn't expect Gai to cry that much." chuckled Kakashi.

Sakura placed the clean gown and mask at the foot of his bed. For some odd reason she felt hesitant when she reached to untie the tie at the front of his gown. She told herself to stop being silly and act professional. She continued while holding her breath.

"Sakura, are you afraid to see your old sensei naked?" smiled Kakashi, his eyes were crinkled, the sure tell sign he was smiling.

"What?! Of course not!" Laughed Sakura nervously. She couldn't believe how immature she was being, she had seen enough of Kakashi's bare skin over the past four months. But then again, he wasn't conscious the entire time and he was never fully naked.

Sakura wished she didn't feel so nervous over something as normal as changing a patient's gown. She realized that the nurses were the ones responsible for this part of a patients care. But it was Kakashi-sensei, she had healed him from head to toe countless of times since she became a medic. She let out a steady breath so Kakashi didn't catch on to her strange behavior.

She pushed pass her awkwardness and undid the tie. Making sure the blanket covered his bottom half securely she pulled the gown off. She was being very professional silently examining the huge wound on his front torso, making sure it was healed. With eyes concentrated on his mask, she grabbed his new gown and began maneuvering it onto his body.

"I hope you didn't mind a cloth as your mask." Sakura stated trying to break the silence and make him more comfortable. "Since you had a bunch of tubes down your throat your mask would've gotten in the way." She said.

"I don't mind, I guess it is nice to breathe some fresh air once in a while." said Kakashi. He seemed more relax with a fresh clean gown.

"Okay, I promise I won't look." said Sakura she reached for the cloth covering Kakashi's face.

"Are you telling me you didn't take advantage of the chance to see my face?" Kakashi asked a little surprised.

Of course Sakura caught glimpses of his face, a straight nose and a strong jaw line. Nothing she couldn't see when his mask was on. It was an emergency situation and she knew he wouldn't appreciate her gawking at his face during such a crisis. Soon after he was stabilized a cloth was already covering the bottom half of his face. She took a moment trying to recall some of his feature and was annoyed when she realized she didn't really see anything at all.

Damn, she missed her chance.

"Of course I didn't see your face, I was kind of busy saving your life." laughed Sakura. "Okay, my eyes are closed."

Kakashi let out a chuckle. He was glad that she respected his privacy. He wouldn't have mind if she had seen his face, he was sure other people took a peek, but not Sakura. It was apparent that she wouldn't look at him unless he gave the okay and that was why Sakura was so trustworthy.

She removed the old mask and placed the new one on his face. Her fingers gingerly moved about his masked face. Once she confirmed his face was covered she opened her eyes again.

"Feel better?" asked Sakura, straightening out his blanket and pillow.

"Much better." yawned Kakashi, his eyes felt a little heavy. He couldn't believe he was sleepy yet again.

"The reason I came was to tell you that I'm going to be in charge of your recovery. I just wanted to discuss the situation with you." said Sakura, pulling a chair next to his bed. She sat down pulling out her notebook and pen.

"So...how are you feeling?" asked Sakura.

"Better?" replied Kakashi, not really having a better response.

"Today was a really long day wasn't it? How are you coping with all of your...disabilities?" Sakura was trying to choose her words carefully, but she failed miserably. She was trying to approach him like any other patient, but he wasn't another patient. He was Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, a lot has happened today. Waking up from a coma, the news Tsunade-shishou gave you. You can always talk to me if you need to." offered Sakura. Though he was foreign territory to her in this aspect, she wanted to let him know she would be there no matter what.

"Thanks Sakura," he stated quietly, "... for everything." At this moment, he wanted to avoid any discussions that had to do with feelings or his mental state. Even if he wanted to he wouldn't know how to go about it. The idea of sharing his feelings with Sakura added to his discomfort.

She responded with a sad smile. He had never spoken with that kind of tone directed at her before. She knew it was difficult for Kakashi even if he didn't say it out loud. Sakura didn't know how to respond to his thanks, she could hear the uncomfortableness in his voice.

"You know what, I'll come back in the morning." she said not wanting to force him into a conversation he obviously wanted to avoid. "As I said before, today was a long day and you must be exhausted." she added.

Kakashi felt her stand up beside him, suddenly he felt a quick peck on his forehead. He didn't know what to say to that. Sakura had never shown such affections towards him. He felt all of the stress she suffered from due to him. That little peck was all it took to stir up even more appreciation for all she's done for a good-for-nothing guy like him.

"I'm really glad you came back to us." said Sakura softly and with that she said goodnight and left.

A slight frown formed on Kakashi's face. He felt apologetic towards Sakura, he must have put her through hell. This new life was going to be hard to adapt to. With another yawn, he decided these uneasy thoughts could still be avoided until tomorrow. Sleep sounded more important at the moment.


	2. Expect the Best, Prepare For the Worst

**You're the Answer to a Guy Like Me**

Rated: M for mature language and sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Author's Note: Hello! I'm very grateful for all of your reviews and support for this story. Chapter 2 took a little more time to write, I'm trying to set the scene of the story and it's taking me longer than expected. I'm hoping to move the story along after this chapter. Please read & review, comments and critiques are very welcomed. I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks once again!

Thanks to **meelomango** for being the most amazing beta in the whole wide world. =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 2: Expect the Best, Prepare For the Worst

* * *

It's been about a week now since Kakashi came out of his coma and it had also been a week since Sakura had had five minutes to herself, besides sleep, which didn't count since she barely slept for four hours at most, if she were lucky. And technically sleep was in her desk chair or on the floor of her office. Times like these she wished she had a bed in her office.

Her desk was currently covered with series of scrolls, books and papers. Those who came to see her probably thought she had lost her mind. She was wearing a light green night gown that she kept in her office for times like these and a grey robe hung loosely on her shoulders. Her long pink hair was pulled back into a loose untidy ponytail.

She knew she looked tired, the last time she had the opportunity to look in the mirrors, deep dark circles had already set in underneath her eyes. Licking her chapped lips, she continued.

Sakura was intensely studying scrolls after scrolls about a variety of kekkei genkai and dojutsu , how they worked and past treatments done for various kinds from all over the world. Since she had limited resources on the Sharingan, she needed to be more resourceful and open-minded about treatment options for Kakashi.

The Uchihas had there own special medic to heal them and they were very protective over data about the Sharingan. Darn those Uchihas for being so secretive about their eyes. She wished she had a chance to study the Sharingan, but of course Sasuke and Kakashi were never available. Kakashi becoming blind was unexpected, so she had to work with what she had. Part one of the treatment plan was almost complete.

If only Sasuke was around, he could probably help her out. Too bad he would be gone for at least five more months due to a mission. Sasuke had been gone for two years now. Sakura wasn't even sure if he even knew the state Kakashi was in.

There was no time to wait for him either, Kakashi was already restless being stuck in the hospital for this long. Sakura couldn't imagine how crazy one can become when they are completely paralyzed. She felt very guilty since his case was given to her, she rarely went to see him. Though she made sure to always receive a brief update about how he was doing.

He hadn't made much progress. It was always the same routine everyday- he remained antisocial, he slept most of the day, didn't eat too much, and everyday he'd casually drop her name as if he wanted to ask for her, but changed his mind last minute. She knew that he wanted to know how much longer he had to wait, but she had to study nonstop to get it done as soon as possible.

Friends and volunteers kept him company. Naruto, Sai and Gai came in almost everyday when they weren't on a mission. And of course all declined his requests to read Icha Icha out loud to him.

Sakura smirked at the idea of how desperate Kakashi was to read his precious books. Out of the ten years Sakura had known him, this was the first time she'd ever seen him without a book in hand. Though it was because he was unable to move a finger.

Sakura felt terrible for laughing at her sensei's frustration. Her teammates gave similar reports about Kakashi's strange behavior. Though he was a never a man of words, but it seemed like he just didn't want to be bothered. She also needed to make sure he ate his meals or he would never have the energy to heal.

Thoughts about his worrisome demeanor reminded her the importance of staying focused, she continued laying out the last part of phase one.

"It's going to be a long, slow process." she whispered to herself, jotting down the last of her notes. She stared at her scroll, finally, it was done. Well the first part anyway. There was no way to plan ahead, she had to experiment first to see if her ideas would even succeed. Today would be the first day of healing Kakashi.

A huge sigh of relief escaped Sakura's lips. She had not felt this jovial in a long time. She dropped down into her chair, leaning back into it as she stretched her arms above her head and her legs before her. Her body was definitely suffering from crouching over her desk for such an extended period.

She turned her chair towards the windows behind her. Carefully lifting her legs and placing them on the windowsill, she leaned backwards enjoying the early morning sunrise.

Looking at the clock, it was almost seven. Though it was still very early in the morning, she didn't want to wait with the good news. She lifted her heavy body out of the chair and began to assemble all the things she needed into her bag. She quickly changed out of her sleeping clothes and headed out the door.

Kakashi needed to be briefed on her plans for today. She knew for a fact that this would be music to his ears.

Shutting the door to her office, she headed down the hall towards Kakashi's room. Though her body was exhausted, the wheels in her brain were rapidly turning. It's been a long time since Sakura had such a challenging case. Nothing excited her more than discovering something new.

Turning the door knob to Kakashi's door, she swung it open. "Kakashi-sensei! Great news! I-" She stopped mid sentence as the scene before her unfolded.

It slipped her mind that everyday around this time, morning baths were given. And right before her eyes, there was Kakashi in all his glory. At least his face was still covered.

Sakura was positive that her eyes fell out of her head and her jaw hit the floor. Though shocked by his naked form, she couldn't help the irritation she felt. As a professional in the medical field, she knew the importance of privacy for each and every patient that walked through the doors of this hospital. Privacy with not only medical information, but with their bodies as well.

The warmth in her face lingered annoyingly as she tried to regain as much composure as possible in front of her staff. It's not everyday she had the opportunity to see Kakashi with everything hanging out. Nonetheless this was a great teaching opportunity.

"Kaoru, I know that you've only been here for a week, but respecting your patient's privacy is the first thing that you learned in training." stated Sakura, firmly. She walked up to the bed and pulled the sheets over Kakashi's lower body.

"I'm so sorry Sakura-san, I didn't think that it was a problem since he didn't have any roommates." the nurse stated meekly.

"It's alright," said Sakura rubbing the bridge of her nose, "with or without a roommate, remember to close the curtains so anyone who walks into the room won't see your naked patients." Kaoru nodded and began wringing out the wet cloth.

"It's okay, I'll finish the bath, I need to speak to him anyways." said Sakura, frustrated, walking up to the woman and taking the cloth from her hands.

"Hatake-san is not awake yet. I tried waking him but he seemed really tired."

Sakura finally turned to Kakashi, noticing that he was out like a light.

"How long has he been like this?" asked Sakura, looking over his monitors to make sure nothing was wrong.

"He woke up when I came in. He just nodded and fell back asleep."

"Thanks, I'll take over from here. Close the curtains when you leave." said Sakura as she placed the towel back into the tub. The nurse did what she was told and quietly closed the door behind her.

Sakura dried her hands and placed it on Kakashi's forehead, making sure he didn't have a fever. His skin was cool and his breathing was deep and even. She finally relaxed her tense shoulder, confirming that he was okay.

"Kakashi-sensei?" called Sakura as she gently shook him awake. His drooped eyes cracked open slightly. "Sensei I'm going to finish your bath if that's alright?" she asked lightly.

"Mmm." was all he said as his eyes closed again. This was typical for someone whose body was still healing, she wasn't worried. It's going to take a lot of time and energy for Kakashi to fully recover.

Testing the water to make sure it was still warm, Sakura grabbed the wash cloth and wrung out the excess water.

She lifted his left arm and began to gently wipe it. Her eyes perusing his muscular arm and the ruby tattoo that was painted onto his pale shoulder. She admired the way it looked against his pallid skin. It suited his sinewy shoulder.

Her mind began to drift, thinking about all the things she needed to get done today. Tsunade had arranged for Kakashi to move into her spare bedroom once he was discharged. It only made sense, who else would take care of him besides her and she had to see him everyday anyway, this would be more convenient.

Sakura had come to terms with invading his privacy. There was no way around it.

This was the first time that she had to give Kakashi a bath. If she knew that she would be in charge of him earlier she would've done all of this herself while he was in a coma.

Healing him was completely different from bathing him. She had left the nurses with this task, not wanting to cross that line.

Thank goodness he was asleep, otherwise she'd be a nervous wreck. Actually that didn't matter, she was still a nervous wreck.

She didn't know of anyone else having to give their ex-sensei a bath.

As Tsunade said, everything that concerned the sleeping silver haired man before her was her responsibility.

She moved on to washing his chest, observing his torso. It was covered in scars of all shapes and sizes from past battles. It always amazes her the power behind the body of a shinobi and Kakashi was indeed a powerful shinobi. A normal human being would've been dead a long time ago.

She gingerly wiped over his newest scar on his left chest. It was the wound that she healed four months ago. She used most of her chakra to repair his lungs, which left her drained. When she was closing the wound she had no energy to make it nice and pretty. A huge scar from his left collar bone traveling down below his abdomen was left as a result to her poor mending.

How could something this disfigured be so beautiful at the same time. She always believed that scars were evidence of life, because if you were dead, a scar would never held stories of the past and emphasizes the fact that you are still alive.

All these scars represented his strength and most importantly it was proof that he was still alive, breathing and still able to heal.

She placed the cloth down and her hand traveled unintentionally slow down the scar as she marveled at it.

Her eyes couldn't help but travel along Kakashi's body.

Though his body was not in the shape it was prior, it was still well-toned and lean. With many years of strenuous exercise under his belt, it was going to be hard for him to ever become out of shape.

Sakura had always admired the physique of a shinobi. Luckily in her line of work she had the opportunity to view many.

She had to admit, Kakashi was in a category all on his own. Not only as a talented, elite shinobi, but as a man. There was no denying that he had a great body and an even more amazing prowess behind it.

Sakura insides trembled for a second as she focused on his chiseled chest and his tight, toned abdomen.

Her line of sight continued downward admiring the deep toned cuts on his hips leading...Sakura inwardly gasped. She couldn't believe she was moments away from drooling over her sensei's sleeping form.

_Way to be a pervert_ Sakura thought to herself, the blood rushing to her cheeks, embarrassed.

She was deeply engrossed in her thoughts she must of traced the scar at least six times now, until a voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

* * *

Kakashi had lost track of time since he woke up from his coma. He had a hard time adjusting to the current date. Being in a coma for four months made his brain feel like mush. The amount of times he had seen the sun set, his guess, at least seven days had past since he woke up. He didn't enjoy the situation he was in. He planned on holding a grudge against Kami for keeping him alive to continue living this life.

He was still glued to his bed. The hospital gown felt rough and itchy, the sheets were always crumpled beneath him and his pillow was never where he wanted it to be.

He couldn't do anything. He couldn't sit up when he wanted to and he couldn't lay down when he wanted to.

Day by day, he laid there waiting for someone to come to his aide. The word independent was worthless to him. He couldn't do anything by himself, pee, shit, eat. Nothing.

The nurses offered diapers to him, but Kami knows he would rather die before ever wearing a fucking diaper.

Kakashi compared his life to a domesticated dog, a crippled, sad house dog. Always waiting for it's master to come home to feed it and let it out to poop.

He was slowly slipping into depression. At the moment he wanted to tear his hair out, he was losing his mind.

Besides wallowing in darkness, he was bored. Nothing to Kakashi was worst than boredom. Yeah being stuck in a place he hated was bad, but before, when he had to stay in the hospital, he was able to entertain himself.

There was no form of entertainment and by entertainment he meant his books. The inflicted pain of not having his book made him want curl up in a ball and cry. He felt like he was missing a piece of himself.

Yes he understood that being paralyzed and blind is a big deal, but his thoughts always drifted back to his books. It was more devastating.

So Kakashi decided to find new ways to past time. At the moment sleep was on the top of the list, actually sleep was the only thing on his list. It allowed him to escape from reality and people.

His appetite was no where to be found, but he ate a bare minimum just to avoid the nagging he got from the nurses.

Kakashi recently developed a new defiance against speaking unless absolutely necessary.

According to Tsunade he was a master at avoiding problems, he might as well take advantage of his skills and suffer a little to avoid speaking to anyone, including the nurses

He had always been a recluse before all this happened, but he tolerated socialization to a certain extent. Now a days he didn't even want to speak, even to his close friends. He just didn't feel like it.

Conversations were hard enough to put up with, but he also had to deal with these excruciating migraines that decided to come randomly. He had loss consciousness a handful of time from the pain.

The feeling of your eyeball burning out of your head is no joke. After each episode, a dull ache would pulse through his left eye.

He assumed it was associated with his Sharingan or it may be the amount of people that came in and out of his room throughout the day. One way or another he wanted it all to stop.

There were many things ruining his life at the moment. If he could create a check list he would.

Kakashi wasn't one to be angry with life and somewhere in the back of his mind, past the depression, mania and anger, he knew that this was a consequence from his carelessness. But he would never admit to it.

He wasn't going to let fate know he was at fault. Fuck fate and it's game.

He internally scoffed at the idea of happiness. Kakashi concluded that it was going to be impossible to find _happiness, _not with the direction his life was heading.

He had already come to terms with being a civilian. With or without happiness, he would still be trapped in this lifeless body.

Alcohol would be the closest thing to happiness. He could see it now, a nurse sitting next to him holding up a bottle of sake with a straw...now that would be a great life.

The bitterness had settled within him.

The residual of the war left him in a bigger mess than before. His ability to comprehend his life and what he fought for was disintegrating. And now here he was, resenting those who only had his best interest in mind.

He would never turn his back on his friends or his village, he still wanted to protect them. But he couldn't deny that his heart was void of any sort of passion to live or die. It didn't matter.

Yet, he would never take the easy route. He _couldn't_ take the easy route. The idea of suicide came to play a couple of times in his life, normally after a great loss. The idea had been around his head randomly throughout this week.

Even if he thought about it, Kakashi still stood firm against suicide. Being someone who had first hand experience of losing someone from suicide, he couldn't ever go through with it.

Though bitter, he still had the desire for exemption. He didn't want to give up just yet.

Internally, he was like a roller-coaster: he was happy he was alive, sad he was live, angry he was alive. All the above. Kakashi never in his dream imagined him to become bat-shit crazy.

Logically, Kakashi couldn't let himself fully breakdown. He didn't live this long to just roll over and die, but he couldn't help but feel unappreciated by the gods.

Somewhere, somehow he found the strength to hold on.

With his _logical_ mentality, he decide to patiently wait for Sakura, though she never came when he requested for her. He figured she was working hard on his behalf or he hoped. He knew Sakura would never neglect her old sensei for this long when he was in this state.

If she only knew how much he was depending on her. She was the only reason why he still had a grasp around hope. So he just clung onto his sanity for a little while longer.

When Kakashi woke up this morning he felt different. He couldn't put a finger on it but he sensed something was going to happen and he was positive it was good. Call it shinobi intuition. He decided to suppress any negative thoughts he had had in the past couple of days, just in case it cancelled out the positive energy he felt.

Feeling clean was always an excellent way to start off a day stuck in a bed, he gladly accepted the nurse's offer for a bath.

He instantly regretted accepting the bath, his good feeling slightly trembled in its wake.

For one, he was freezing cold. The nurse didn't bother to cover him. Another exciting day in the life of Hatake Kakashi, laying in bed, butt ass naked and cold.

He laid there silently, pretending to be asleep to avoid any conversation. Yes, he was aware that all he had to do was ask her to cover him, but his bitterness didn't allow it.

Would you call this being immature? Maybe, but Kakashi just really didn't want to care.

So he just laid there cold and content with his petty decision.

When he heard Sakura's voice, he immediately regretted his moment of juvenile idiocy. His shinobi intuition was definitely off today. The remnants of the good feeling from earlier quickly dissipated. Today was not starting on a good note after all.

Here he laid naked as a newborn baby and cold, with Sakura there as a witness. Just because he wanted to be rebellious and antisocial. He should've asked to be covered.

Kakashi had seriously lost his marbles that's for sure.

He was always held in high esteem for his ability to use his brain.

Before the war, he was a different person. He was someone who believed in the power of bonds and friendship. Before the war, he didn't know everything he stood for was false.

Yet, according to some, before the war, he still wasn't living a _good_ life.

This very moment confirmed what the Hokage said to him the other day. He was indeed a different person. The fact he chose to remain silent because of anger and bitterness against the world, Sakura had to experience this, along with himself. He failed to prevent this nonsensical mortifying situation.

Once upon a time he would never allow his resentment against life to get in the way of logic, no matter what. But lately, he couldn't resist the ease of slipping into the dark sinking hole known as bitterness.

If only he realized ahead of time, that living life full of resentment actually turned you into the biggest imbecile in the entire universe.

He needed to fix himself.

Okay maybe he was being a little overdramatic, another new thing he was doing, but poor Sakura shouldn't have to see her teacher, someone she had known since she was kid, naked.

He internally sighed, exhausted from over thinking. What's done is done. He was planning on turning a new leaf to avoid situations like this in the future.

He was thoroughly embarrassed, but he still felt elated that she was here. Her presence meant only _one thing_.

She did it.

She was ready to save him.

The glimmer of hope seemed brighter now.

It was like Sakura heard his silent cry for help and came just when he was about to let go of his saneness.

Sakura did this all the time. She was always there when you needed her most, to heal a wound or just to cover you up when you were naked and cold. She was a good person, full of empathy.

Though he appreciated her existence, he couldn't help but feel odd when she took over his bath.

He hoped this wasn't another bad choice on his part to allow her to give him a bath. But Kakashi literally decided to stop being immature a few moments ago and people don't change that quickly. The anti-social tendency he developed over the past couple of days were still there.

And with that, he continued to pretend to be asleep, even if it went against his own conscience. The quiet voice within telling him it wasn't a good idea.

_What's the worst that could happen_ retorted Kakashi to himself.

He felt her delicately place her hand on his forehead, her hand warm against his skin. After a moment she nudged him asking him if it was okay for her to give him a bath. Kakashi couldn't say no, she was just doing her job.

He managed a very convincing sleepy response, then immediately went back to pretending.

Then she began. It started out very normal. Kakashi was grateful for that. Sakura was being very professional.

It felt nice and Kakashi had no reason to feel uncomfortable with Sakura, besides the fact that she was his past student. But she continued her professionalism, allowing him to relax releasing the nervous energy he had.

Everything was fine until she began washing the left side of his chest. He breathed in a little more air than normal. He knew that he had a wound there that was in the midst of healing. But this sensation was alien to him. He felt his eyes welding up with tears. Kakashi was never ticklish, more so, no one had ever tried to tickle him.

What startled him more was when Sakura's hand replaced the towel. He felt her fingers traveling slowly down his body, too slow. The contact was a little too sensual for Kakashi's liking.

Maybe she was checking it to make sure it was healed, but that thought was lost when she continued to gingerly trace it back and forth.

He didn't dare breathe, trying to get through this slow torture in silence. It took everything he had to not burst out in laughter, since composure was something he always aimed for.

He couldn't pretend to be asleep any longer, not with this odd tickling sensation. Clearing his throat he stated calmly,

"Um Sakura, you're tickling me."

* * *

Sakura halted her movements. She was frozen in fear. She slowly turned her head towards the voice and stared into the dull red and grey eyes that belonged to Kakashi.

He was awake! And what was she doing while he was awake. Salivating over his body! That was what she was doing. Sakura wished there was cliff nearby to jump off of. Never in her life had she ever been this embarrassed.

It was terrible thing to do, but she thanked Kami that he was blind. He didn't need to see her being shameful.

Her face was burning hot, she knew she could pass as a bright red tomato. Her body didn't know what to do, still frozen.

_Ugh! What an idiot!_ yelled Sakura's inner self, _Get yourself together!_

"Ah-ha-ha! Kaka-sensei! You're awake!" exclaimed Sakura, her volume too loud and forced for the early morning. Regaining control over her body, she began fumbling around with the sheets and wash cloth she had forgotten on the bed, trying to pretend she wasn't doing anything out of the norm.

Kakashi cleared his throat trying to blink up the excess water in his eyes, hoping Sakura didn't notice how watery they were. Deciding that taking a vow of silence was a terrible idea

Once again it was painfully obvious he was handling his life incorrectly. Look at where it got him...never again.

"Sakura, it's good to see you," coughed Kakashi, "I mean...hear you?" Sakura couldn't help but laugh even during this unique situation. She was very grateful, it appeared that he didn't suspect a thing.

Sakura was horrified with herself, how could she be this unprofessional. She began silently knocking on her head trying to figure out her actions. The last thing she needed was Kakashi thinking that she was some sort of closet pervert.

"S-sorry about that sensei. I was just looking at your scar to make sure it was still healing properly." stuttered Sakura with a light, awkward laugh hoping that he'd buy it. He didn't need to know that she was admiring his scars or his body.

"It's alright Sakura-chan. I've never been tickled before...it was an exhilarating experienced." chuckled Kakashi, fibbing. He didn't need people to know he was ticklish.

He knew one thing, he didn't like being tickled.

This cumbersome situation was due to him lacking a brain, he saw fit to move on as quickly as possible.

Hearing him say that slightly lifted the awkward tension she had created.

"I'm glad I can help you learn something new about yourself." smiled Sakura.

Kakashi couldn't help the small smile on his face The lack of comfort he felt a moment ago was gone and he now felt at ease. He was happy that she didn't realize he was faking sleep the entire time.

So content with moving on, he relaxed and shut his eyes again.

"Well let me finish giving you your bath and then we can discuss my plans for you." said Sakura, grabbing a fresh cloth. It was best to change the topic.

"So how have you been? Sorry I didn't come see you." said Sakura as she continued washing Kakashi's other arm.

"I figured you were working hard, hopefully it was about getting me out of here." sighed Kakashi.

He inhaled deeply, the anticipation of this moment had been his sole focus since the moment he had woken up to the travesty of his condition. Finally he was able to ask, "Do you know when I'd be able to go back home?"

There was a pause as Sakura moved lower down his body. She was done washing his his upper body, her hand hesitated reaching for the sheet.

"Um I need to wash your lower half" she distractedly said, not able to disguise her nervousness.

"That's fine Sakura. So about me getting out of here." again, he repeated, striving to remain on topic as much as possible. There was no time for distraction.

Sakura was shocked at how comfortable he was with the situation. His eyes were still closed and he just laid there looking as calm as ever. It was apparent that Sakura was alone with her uneasiness.

If Kakashi wanted to get this bath done and over with he wasn't going to show his discomfort. Sakura was here to give him a bath and that was what he was going to get.

"Okay...let's see..." she said while slowly pulling down the sheet covering Kakashi's lower half. She fought hard not to stare at anything particular, though it was kind of hard because , for the second time today, there was her sensei baring all he had to the world. The faint blush stained her face permanently as she began to wash his legs.

Clearing her throat she said, "Well...um...Tsunade has assigned you as my special patient." Finishing one leg she moved on to the other. "So what that means is that from now on you will be living with me." continued Sakura, concentrating at the task at hand.

Kakashi pondered about his new living situation for a moment. His face taking on a look of deep thought, his right eyebrow slightly raised.

"Well anything is better than staying here." he concluded, casually. He was sad that he wouldn't get to lie in his own bed, but overall he was completely content with anything at this point. He felt Sakura movement stop.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked head leaning towards Sakura's direction.

"Um I'm about to wash you...there." peeped Sakura. It was obvious that she was uneasy about touching him_ down there_.

"Is something wrong with it?" laughed Kakashi, jokingly, trying to help her feel more comfortable. He felt terrible for his student. Poor Sakura, she didn't know what she signed up for.

Suddenly he flinched, shocked with the sudden and unexpected disturbance he felt from Sakura's hand on his member. It wasn't a feeling of pleasure, it was more of a _what the fuck _kind of feeling.

Sakura had begun. Kakashi wasn't as prepared for this as he thought he was. Currently, Sakura had his dick in her hand. Kakashi knitted his eyebrows, concentrating on the towel, praying silently for this it to be over.

"Sorry sensei, I should've warned you." said a frail Sakura. She felt his body clenching once she began. All she wanted was to get this done and fast, so they could move on. She was focused on cleaning every inch of him as fast as she could. Finally the object in her hand was squeaky clean and she was done.

Kakashi stayed silent the entire time, fighting the heat in his face. It wasn't a good feeling, not that she was hurting him, but how could he ever get past the fact that Sakura currently had his penis in her hand.

Kakashi's resentment towards life was starting to heed its ugly head again. He decided fate kept him alive to humiliate him.

"Done!" said Sakura sounding too happy for her own good.

Kakashi was extremely happy as well. This particular bed-bath felt like it was never ending. He was very apologetic towards Sakura. Not only did she save his life, she had to wipe his ass too.

"Sorry about taking so long." she said meekly as she placed the cloth in the hamper, next to the bed. She released the breath she was holding, a huge smile was stuck on her face. She grabbed a fresh gown and began putting it on Kakashi.

"Sakura, are you comfortable with doing all this?" asked Kakashi in low voice. Leaving the hospital would be ideal, but the peculiar interaction moments before left Kakashi feeling apprehensive.

Sakura was shocked that he would even ask such a question. Someone needs to smack her back to her senses. She shouldn't have made him uncomfortable.

Settling beside him on the bed, she placed a hand on his and said, "Sensei, of course I'm comfortable taking care of you. I admit that I'm going to have to get use to doing certain things, but I'll do anything if it means you getting better." She gave his hand a squeeze trying to assure him that she meant her words.

Kakashi couldn't help but feel worst. Sakura shouldn't have to play caretaker for his sake. She was too brilliant of a medic to be stuck at home just to feed and bathe him.

"I'm serious Kaka-sensei. This is not a problem, plus you're my excuse to get a vacation from the hospital. I seriously needed a break." she laughed.

"Well, if you say so." said Kakashi still uneasy.

"I say so." interrupted Sakura. "Plus I came here with good news." She could see the slight twist of his head towards the right that Kakashi's ear was perking up.

She continued, "I'm going to begin treating your Sharingan today."

"My Sharingan?" inferred Kakashi.

"Yes, your Sharingan." replied Sakura. "Your Sharingan is malfunctioning, it has sucked up all of your chakra. At the moment, all of your chakra gates are closed for some odd reason, but they all need to be reopen. We should say that your immobile, not paralyzed. Basically your lack of chakra has shut down your mobility to support the important stuff like your brain and heart. If you were paralyzed you would have some sort of spinal injury or brain damage. Since four out five senses are intact, it gives me high hope that once your eye is healed you will regain your movement and sight."

"So your going to heal my Sharingan first to restore proper chakra flow." stated Kakashi. He was still amazed at how smart Sakura. Besides Tsunade, no one understood the way the body worked like Sakura.

"Exactly!" exclaimed Sakura. She couldn't hide her excitement, she was ready to begin her treatment.

"Well if the Sharingan is the problem that explains those crazy headaches I've been having. It always radiate from the back of my left eye. Is it normal to pass out from headaches?" asked Kakashi, revealing another troubling problem. This was the first she had heard about it.

"It is very vital that you report things like this to me, immediately." lectured Sakura, a stern look on her face and brows furrowed in worry. "And no it is not normal, we're going to have to keep a close eye on this. Take note on when these headache occurs."

"... And sensei, like I said earlier, you better not hide stuff like this from me, or else..." Sakura warned. Kakashi gave a nervous nod in response, he could feel the dangerous aura she was releasing.

_Rules to remember: Do not piss off Sakura-chan_ stated Kakashi to himself.

Sakura was definitely worried. Headaches made sense due to the state the Sharingan was in, but to pass out from it was not a good sign. The last thing Kakashi needed was to fall back into a coma. This was definitely something she'd be monitoring.

"Well there's no reason to wait any longer. I'm going to start healing your Sharingan today and tomorrow we're going to get you discharged and moved to my place." enthused Sakura, the scary atmosphere she created disappeared immediately.

She began raising the head of Kakashi's bed, placing him in a sitting position.

"I've been super busy studying and reading and _not_ sleeping trying to learn anything from any kekkai genkai. Barely anything can relate to the Sharingan those secretive bastards, but I think I almost cracked the code." The excitement in her voice couldn't be missed.

She positioned herself comfortably next to him.

"Were you upset with me?" probed Sakura, studying him to see if he held any sort of resentment towards her. She knew she was M.I.A. for awhile and if he was upset, she wanted to clarify that she didn't forget about him.

"Upset?" echoed Kakashi, "Why would I be upset?" There was no intonation or sarcasm behind his response.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't avoiding you or anything." explained Sakura. She felt silly for thinking too much of the situation. She was probably the last thing on his mind.

"Hm, I was wondering where you were, but I'd never be upset with you Sakura-chan." smiled Kakashi. In all honesty, he couldn't deny he felt some sort of abandonment, he was only human. A week was a long time, mainly when he was stuck in a place he despised.

He would never admit that a darkness overcame him while he waited for her. He wasn't particularly upset with her, it was more like he was anxious to hear news from her, any kind of news would've been nice.

There wasn't any reason to hold any ill feelings against her. His week long suffering paid off because here she was now, with a solution in hand.

"How long do you think it would take to heal my eye?" inquired Kakashi, wanting to forget how he felt a day ago.

"What I've learned is that the Sharingan is made of multiple intricate chakra pathways that are very delicate. It's going to take some time for me to follow each pathway and heal what;s damaged. We're going to have to take it real slow, so I won't screw up your eye anymore than it already is." she calmly explained.

Kakashi released a sigh. He had hoped it would be a faster process, but he was willing to settle with anything that took him down the right path towards normal body function.

"Okay, here we go." said Sakura, adjusting herself. She leaned forward and slightly turning Kakashi's head towards her.

Sakura overloaded his sensitive senses. He felt her breath on his face, the smell of coffee on her breath. Her scent was abnormal, it wasn't the way he remembered her smelling. It was similar to the hospital. He couldn't help the frown forming on his lips, he missed the smell of her regular strawberry shampoo. She must be bathing here instead of home.

"Hold still and keep your left eye open." instructed Sakura. Kakashi did as he was told.

Slowly he felt Sakura's chakra enter his eye. The soothing, minty feel of her chakra flowed through his chakra pathway with precision. He knew every time she found a damaged area because she would pour a little more healing chakra at that moment, but it was never overwhelming. She did it was perfect control. Sakura always had perfect chakra control. Maybe he should have taught her genjutsu when he had the chance. He always thought she would be perfect with genjutsu.

And again, he began to silently think of all the things he should have done.

The healing continued for about an hour. Kakashi was fighting his sleepiness and he could feel Sakura's energy waning.

He hadn't notice before, but he really enjoyed the way another person's chakra felt inside him. His left eye felt relaxed, the ache in it subsiding. The muscles in his neck and shoulder began to unwind, since the pain had subsided. It's been a long time since Kakashi felt this unrestrained.

Kakashi could tell Sakura was tired. The constant puff of air he felt on the side of his face told him she was leaning closer to his body, her face a mere inch away. Her elbow was slightly perched on his chest, supporting her raised arm.

Finally Sakura stopped her chakra, putting her hand down. Her breathing was heavier than before. He could feel a bead of sweat drop onto his arm. He raised an eyebrow, he had never known Sakura to be tired, this was a girl who healed majority of the injured during the war.

"Are you alright?" asked Kakashi, fighting back a yawn. Missing his mid-morning nap was taking a toll on him.

"I'll make it." laughed Sakura feeling exhausted. "At least we know that each each treatment will last at least an hour. I barely made it halfway through that first pathway." stated Sakura. Using such precise chakra control was physically draining. She blamed it on her lack of sleep. She really needed to work on her stamina.

"How do you feel?" asked Sakura, standing up and stretching her arms above her head, shaking off the soreness in arm and hand. Next time, she needed to find a better position to do this. She began to lower the head of the bed for Kakashi.

"I feel okay, nothing new." replied Kakashi. He was exhausted. He really wished he could stretch out like a cat, his body felt stiff as a board. He strained to tense something, to find some kind of relief, like an old dog stretching his tired muscles before he succumbed to blissful sleep.

All of a sudden he was knocked out of his sleepiness when a body lunged onto his.

"Sensei!" screamed Sakura. She lunged onto his hand holding it within hers, surprising him. "Sensei! You just moved your pinky!" She was thrilled, her tired eyes might have been playing a joke on her. No, she saw what she saw. He _moved._

Kakashi didn't believe her, with furrowed brows and concentration, he willed his pinky to move. A strange sense of...relief washed over him. He could feel it wiggling within Sakura's grasp.

_Well that is the definition of a quick result._ thought Kakashi, delighted at the feel of controlling something on his body.

"This is amazing progress!" exclaimed Sakura wanting to do backflips across the room. "We are on the right track Kaka-sensei. Now for the rest of the day I need you to eat your meals so you can have strength to sit through treatments." advised Sakura firmly as she released his hands.

She stood back up trying to regain some composure after tackling him like a mad woman.

She began straightening the sheets and Kakashi's pillow to make him more at ease, feeling the most content she had in quite some time. This was going to work. These sessions were going to work. Her teacher, her mentor, her friend was going to be able to live his life again. Hopefully with better decisions this time.

Kakashi could only respond with a nod. He was still mesmerized by the moving pinky.

"I won't be back this evening since I need to get your discharge paper together and get your room ready." said Sakura. She began gathering up all her belongings. "I'll see you tomorrow," leaning in and wrapping her arms around Kakashi's neck, "You will be better in no time. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks Sakura." said in his low registered voice, still distracted by his pinky.

She finally released him, holding her tears back. She was extremely happy to see Kakashi in this awe state. Nothing had ever surprised Kakashi. She studied his half covered face. His eyes were wide open, she imagined his mouth slightly opened, as his pinky continued tapping non stop against the bed. She was exhilarated for him.

She stood up and headed out the door without another word. She had a list of things she needed to get done before the day was over.

This was going to work.


	3. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

**You're the Answer to a Guy Like Me**

Rated: M for mature language and sexual content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Author's Note: Greetings! Once again! I'd like to thank you all for the reviews and support for this story! All of your reviews and support has definitely motivated me and inspired me to write more. I'm so excited to share this story with you guys. I hope you enjoy Chapter 3. Please read & review. Comments, questions, critiques are always welcomed. =)

**Meelomango** - thanks for reading and re-re-re-reading my chapters for me :) I'm glad you are there to fix my terrible english...since it is my second language after all...lol. I love you! (If you guys haven't read her fics yet. Do it. She's amazing. Maybe we can force her to finish HCBD)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Chapter 3: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

* * *

"Perfect." praised Sakura as she eyed the flowers on the nightstand. She was finally done getting her spare room together for Kakashi.

This room had been used as a storage room for many years. She literally spent the whole night looking through everything. Now a pile of bags sat in front of the house, she was able to get rid of a lot of useless things.

She didn't understand why she kept half of the things she found in this room.

Two bags were literally filled with her childhood uniform. She had about twenty five of the same red dress with the familiar white circular patterns and a good amount of shorts that didn't fit anymore. When she moved out on her own, she thought it would be cute if she turned her childhood outfit into a huge red quilt. What a stupid idea. She didn't have a creative bone in her body, nor the time to be making a quilt. She decided to keep just one, the rest of the twenty four dresses sat outside.

Sakura was impressed by her hoarding ability. She managed to stash away the strangest things. She had a huge bag full of folders with all of her work from the academy. There was no reason to keep all of this, unless she was planning on reminiscing about being a straight A student in the academy. That bag was also sitting on the curb.

She was glad the room had some useful things, like old medical textbooks and scrolls. She also found a few memorable romance novels she use to enjoy. She decided to place them in one of the empty drawers of her nightstand. It would be nice to have available on a boring, lonely night.

Well, she shouldn't be lonely for awhile. Not with Kakashi living here.

Sakura smiled to herself, who would've thought Kakashi moving in would help her get her life together. She had been meaning to clean this room for years.

The bed was delivered early this morning, it was a full, giving Kakashi plenty of room. Sakura had bought brand new black sheets and an accompanying cozy black duvet. She thought she had over done it with all the pillows, but Kakashi was going to need help sitting up since it wasn't a hospital bed.

There was a total of thirteen pillows, all were in either a black or dark grey pillowcase. Most were regular firm pillows to help prop him up. There was also a huge neck roll that could be used as a body pillow or help support his neck if needed. She didn't bother buying throw pillows since Kakashi was going to be in bed most of the time. Overall, it looked comfortable.

Everything else in the room was his. After clearing out the room last night, she went to Kakashi's apartment to begin packing up clothes and some keepsakes to help him feel more at home.

She remembered how odd it was being in his apartment and rummaging through his things. It was even more odd that that was the first time she had ever step foot in Kakashi's apartment.

Kakashi had been over to her house a handful of times for get togethers or to summon her, but that was about it.

She never realized how distant she really was from Kakashi. She knew the boys went over to his house often to have discussions or drinks, but Sakura never had the time to join them.

She was always too busy working at the hospital or assisting the Hokage.

Plus, the boys weren't really invited over to Kakashi's place, they more so barged in on him unexpectedly, bringing food and drinks. She recalled all the stories they would share with her after their impromptu get togethers. Most of them involved Kakashi going to bed early, hoping they would get the idea to leave.

Kakashi was never one to express his feelings freely. Even if it meant having to put up with a group of rowdy boys who wouldn't leave him alone. He'd rather ignore the situation all together, but there were times when he didn't mind their company.

Sakura couldn't help laugh at the thought of Naruto, Sai and Sasuke forcing their way into this tiny apartment. Poor Kakashi.

It was regrettable that she didn't take advantage of the quality time with her teammates while they were all still in the village. Memories of her carefree teammates made her feel the loss of time.

Sakura didn't regret working hard and developing her medical skills. She wouldn't be the kunoichi she was today if she hadn't done that. But she couldn't help but feel like she missed out on a lot of possible good memories.

She wondered if she had decided to work less, would her relationship with Kakashi be any different. Kakashi was always going to be her teacher, but since she was twelve, he had always placed his attention on Sasuke or Naruto.

She admitted, she did suffer from ill feelings and jealousy when she was younger. The thought, _what about me sensei? _popped into her mind often during her teen years. It wasn't until she became Tsunade's apprentice, did she realize that her strengths as a ninja was something Kakashi couldn't teach her.

For that reason, she stopped feeling sorry for herself. Sure it would've been nice to learn a thing or two from her sensei, but that was all in the past now.

This was a new opportunity for both of them to develop an actual relationship, not just the title of student and teacher.

Here they were now, basically two complete strangers who have known one another for over a decade and now they were going to be living together in her tiny home.

Sakura knew Kakashi was a very simple man, the bareness of his apartment extenuated this fact. He didn't really have much in his studio apartment. A twin sized bed with a cover decorated with shuriken was on the left side of the room. His desk was in the opposite corner covered in paper work. There was little to no artwork or posters on the wall. Something very different from her own household. Sakura cluttered her home with paintings, posters, decorations, although she was hardly there to ever appreciate them, or to realize that it all looked terrible together. It was nice to have.

One thing that amazed Sakura was the built-in bookshelves that were next to his bed, Sakura had never seen him read any of these books in public. Her eyes perused the different titles on the bindings. She never knew Kakashi's reading was so diverse.

She was all to familiar with the set of books directly above the head of his bed and smiled. There was Icha Icha one, two, three _and_ the behind the scenes books that Jiraya-sama had written especially for him. Their position in the apartment showed how much Kakashi coveted them.

On his windowsill was a potted plant moments away from shriveling up and two photographs. They were both fairly similar to one another. A smiling teacher, a happy girl, and two boys with obvious discontent for one another.

She couldn't help but smile at how cute Kakashi was when he was younger. His hair hadn't change since. He seemed so different- younger, less lazy. Her eyes roved over the faces of his teammates, saddened at the thought that they were all gone. And there was her team, all were still here.

Sakura couldn't fathom the pain of losing a teacher and teammates. Look at how she handled Sasuke leaving. Losing even _one_ would tear her apart. He lost them all. How did Kakashi do it? She pondered as she began placing the pictures in the box she brought.

She decided to pack his plant too, Kakashi was going to be away for awhile and she was sure he didn't want it to wilt away, she was going to try to salvage it. Carefully she placed all of the Icha Icha series in the box. She couldn't believe the condition these books were in. They were pristine, how was that possible when he read them day in and day out.

She laughed out loud, shaking her head...the things that Kakashi treasured.

She grabbed the second empty box she brought to begin packing his clothes.

Locating the long trunk at the end of the bed, she opened it. There were no civilian clothes. The trunk was full of standard jounin pants, a mixture of standard long and short sleeved jounin shirts, sleeveless spandex shirts with attached masks, a few pair of shinobi gloves, two pair of grey sweat pants and a pile of black boxer briefs. Sakura was going to assume that Kakashi's favorite color was black.

Grabbing all the neatly folded clothes, she placed them in the second box. Looking around the tiny apartment one last time, her eyes fell on his jounin flak jacket hanging by the door.

It would be strange to see Kakashi going around without his flak jacket. It was something he had always worn the entire time she had known him. The only other time he ever wore anything else was when he was in ANBU. She only had the chance to see him in his ANBU uniform once and that was when they brought him in to the hospital four months ago. Most of it was torn to shreds.

Her finger lightly ran over the jacket, it felt worn, the normally rough material had a little softness to it. Sakura was surprised at how neat and well cared for his belongings were. She always imagined him to be like any other guy, a mess. Naruto's place was always a mess, scattered with assorted ramen cups, wrappers and paper. Kakashi was the complete opposite. He was tidy.

She quickly unhooked the jacket from the hanger and placed it neatly into the box with the rest of his clothing, maybe having it around will help motivate him to earn it back.

Once she was done, she headed back home and this was the result.

All of his clothes were neatly folded into the dresser near the door. She had arranged the pictures and plant on the windowsill, in the same position at his apartment.

His books were neatly stacked on the nightstand to the left of the bed.

Sakura took a deep breath and released it slowly as she sat on Kakashi's new bed, staring out the window. She was content with the way the room turned out, it was nice and cozy.

Checking her watch, she realized it was almost noon, Kakashi should be on his way soon. She decided to take advantage of her moment of alone time, it was probably going to be her last. She doubt she'd have any alone time with Kakashi being here.

She lifted her legs onto the bed and laid back into the plush pillows. She wanted to test out the comfort of the new mattress.

She gave herself a mental high-five, proud of the finish product of the room. The bed was pretty damn comfortable, she knew Kakashi would like it.

Her eye lids were slowly starting to slide shut until she heard her front door slam and a loud voice was heard.

"Sakura! Oh Sakura! Where are you?" sang a voice from the hallway.

Sakura groaned aloud, of course she couldn't have a moment to herself, she never did.

"In here Ino." said Sakura, still laying down, not wanting to move at the moment.

Ino's blonde head popped into her line of sight at the doorway.

"Whoa! This room sure is different." exclaimed Ino, "When is Kakashi-sensei going to be here?"

"He should be here in an hour or two." yawned Sakura, fanning the tears in her eyes. She was beat.

"Aw is poor forehead-chan tired?" cooed Ino as she found a spot next to Sakura, laying down next to her. "So is it weird?" she asked, her eyes full of excitement.

"What is weird?"

"You know...you're going to live with him." said Ino with a nudge to Sakura's side.

"Ino, he's going to be here as a patient, I mean I think we got over the weirdness yesterday, after the bath." said Sakura, letting out another yawn and stretching her arms above her, not really wanting to gossip with Ino at the moment.

"What!? You gave him a bath!?" yelled Ino jumping onto her knees, eyes looking straight into Sakura's.

"Yes, Ino. He can't move remember." answered Sakura, rolling her eyes. She sat up again turning to look at Ino, as she felt Ino's elbow nudging her at her side again, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Well..." smirked Ino, "how was it? Is he big or small?" Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes again at her best friend's immaturity.

"Ino! Seriously! That's what you're concerned with?!" exclaimed Sakura. "He is my patient and I'm a professional!"

"Sure..." said Ino, with a playful glint in her eyes. Sakura didn't like the look she gave her, like she knew exactly what Sakura saw.

She would never admit it to anyone, she would rather die. Yes Kakashi was given a gift, a very impressive gift, she will admit that to herself. What? She couldn't help but see it, it was right there in front of her and for a moment in her hands, she couldn't not look at it.

Sakura had no idea why she was embarrassed about seeing Kakashi's genitals, ever since she became a medic she had probably seen thousands of penises by now.

"That good huh?" laughed Ino, watching her friend's face turning a slight pink. "Well you do have a sexy sensei, I gotta give you that. I would do anything to see that man glistening with sweat, with all his glory in front of my-"

"Shut up Ino-pig!" interrupted Sakura, her fist clenching a pillow, ready to knock some sense into the blonde.

"Fine. Fine. I won't ask anymore, but I can tell by the look on your face that...KAKASHI HAS A BIG DICK!" yelled Ino, her voice escalating with amusement and full of laughter. She began cowering down, raising her arms to block the pillow heading in her direction. She waited for the impact. But it never came.

Her eyes slowly opened looking to see what happened to her pink haired friend. Sakura's face was contorted with horror. She was frigid, her eyes wide open, staring pass her, and her mouth hung open in shock, her face was blood red. Her arm and pillow still in mid-air.

"Sakura..." called Ino, quietly. No response. "Sakura?" she called again. Ino couldn't grasp what had happen. Suddenly a rustle was heard behind her from the door, her head turned quickly. Her eyes widened as well. There was Kakashi, bounded in a wheelchair, behind him stood Gai.

* * *

Her wide eyes stared at Kakashi, he was in his typical black jounin clothes sans jacket, a white cloth wrapped around his lower face. He resembled someone from Suna. His hair fell over his eyes, since he didn't have his hatai-ate to stabilize it.

Sakura didn't understand why this kept happening. She didn't know what to say, she wanted to run to her bedroom and hide under her bed in utter shame and embarrassment, instead of facing him. Why out of all the things he could overhear, why this!?

She slowly lowered her arm, dropping the pillow in front of her. She was still kneeling on the bed besides Ino. She saw Ino looking back at her. It was a first for the regularly loud mouth blonde kunoichi, no words could form from either of their mouths.

Gai broke the silence with a hearty chuckle and bellowed, "Ino-chan! You are correct, he is after all my eternal rival! I, myself have seen how big Kakashi's peni-"

Kakashi cleared his throat loudly, interrupting Gai as soon as possible

"Sakura. I'm here." drawled Kakashi, with a bored tone.

Sakura stumbled off the bed, landing clumsily onto her feet.

"K-Kakashi-sensei! Y-y-you're here." repeated Sakura, the jitteriness obvious in her voice.

Gai was not helping out the situation whatsoever, she could see the annoyance in Kakashi's face. Dreary eyes stared ahead, his body was slumped in the chair. He didn't look comfortable.

Her hands were currently behind her back, clawing into her shirt. She knew he heard. Stupid Ino and her big mouth!

"Ah Sakura-chan! This room will be ideal for Kakashi!" cheered Gai, behind Kakashi.

Sakura saw Ino climb off the bed.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Ino. "I hope you like your new room! Sakura has been working on it all day! Oh no look at the time I gotta go! Bye Sakura!" After her rushed words, Ino turned to look at Sakura and mouthed a _sorry_ and took off out of the room.

_Bitch! Way to leave me in the mess you created._ She couldn't believe Ino just ran out like that.

Kakashi's silence was unnerving. She knew he wasn't going to call her out for what he just overheard. He wasn't one for confrontations.

"Wel-welcome to your room." sputtered Sakura, moving aside so Gai would be able to wheel him in.

Gai positioned Kakashi to the left of the bed with Kakashi's back slightly towards the wall. He carefully placed the breaks on the wheelchair and walked to the front of Kakashi.

He gently lifted the covers to the other side and moved a couple of pillows to the other side of the bed.

"Alright Kakashi! Up you go!" boomed Gai. With one arm positioned behind Kakashi's head and another behind his knees, he lifted up Kakashi effortlessly off the wheelchair and onto the bed.

Sakura was surprised at how gentle Gai was with Kakashi. It was really endearing to see Gai express his concern for his best friend.

"How do you feel sensei?" asked Sakura, moving closer to the bed. She was going to have to get over it on her own, her first concern was his comfort.

"It was nice to finally get out of the hospital." mumbled Kakashi, sinking into the piles of pillow behind him. Sakura could see he was really tired.

"Here let me pull the covers over you." said Sakura, leaning over him to pull the soft duvet over his body.

"Mm, thanks." murmured Kakashi, his heavy lids were half closed.

Sakura gently tucked the comforter under his chin.

"Kakashi, you have lucked out this time. With the power of youth within Sakura-chan, you'll be younger and better in no time." chimed Gai, giving a Kakashi a heavy smack on his shoulder, shaking him out of his drowsiness.

"Yes Gai. Thanks for delivering me." lamented Kakashi, quietly, hoping his friend would get the hint to leave him be. The journey took a lot out of him, sitting up for a long period of time was exhausting and the uncomfortable wheelchair made it worse.

His noisy friend didn't help the headache he had at the moment.

Sakura didn't miss the pained expression from Kakashi.

"Gai-sensei, thanks for bringing him here. Were you able to bring the boxes from my office?" said Sakura, distracting Gai from Kakashi.

"Yes, I brought them all! They are all outside. Where do you want them?" said Gai, giving his typical nice guy pose.

"I'll show you," decided Sakura, heading towards the door. "Sensei you can rest for a while and we'll begin your treatment soon." She headed out the door, following Gai.

* * *

Kakashi was feeling a lot of things at the moment: joy, pain, shock, weary. It's been a long morning all in all.

He had woken up early this morning, full of excitement at the idea of finally getting discharged. He got his normal bed bath by...not Sakura. He tried following Sakura's instruction about eating his food, but he just wasn't hungry. After taking a spoonful of rice and refusing everything else, he was left to himself.

Soon after, the dull aching pain in his eye returned and it had been throbbing ever since. That definitely set him in the pissy mood he was currently in.

At least his bed was comfy and warm, better than the creaky, thin mattress in the hospital. He liked the pillows propping him up comfortably and the best thing so far was the smell. The room didn't smell sterile, it smelled like a regular home. He never imagined how sweet the air could smell.

Closing his eyes again, he began taking deep breaths, trying to relax and get through the ache in his head.

Trying to distract his mind from the pain, he thought about what he walked into. It wasn't everyday you get the chance to overhear an obviously private conversation between two female.

Kakashi didn't mind what was said, he felt indifferent about it. Okay, he couldn't deny the entertainment behind the conversation he overheard. Sakura's obvious embarrassment was quite comical.

The last thing he expected them to be discussing was the size of his dick. He took it as a compliment. If he had the energy and wasn't battling against depression, he would've milked the situation a little more.

He was beginning to develop some sort of sick amusement at making Sakura uncomfortable. He's never seen Sakura so awkward and nervous.

Since she became Tsunade's disciple, she had always been focused and serious, too mature for her own good. It was always business with Sakura.

Kakashi couldn't criticize her for being all about work, he was like that once upon a time. He was proud to have been her teacher once, Sakura was a respectable kunoichi and medic.

Thinking about yesterday and today, he knew it was going to take awhile for Sakura to get use to him.

With a small chuckle, he felt more relaxed. He decided he was too moody for his own good and needed to snap out of it.

Positive thinking was foreign to him, but he was willing to give it a try.

He had all the reason in the world to be positive as his left pinky caressed the fabric of his comforter. If the progress continued to come this quickly, he had no reason to be depressed.

He needed to stay focus at the task at hand, being a civilian was not an option.

He let out a yawn, slowly sinking into the warmth of his new bed.

* * *

Sakura made a makeshift office in the corner of her living room, there she placed all the things Gai had dropped off.

Staring out the window in front of her, it was already evening. She couldn't believe it took her this long to organize everything. Luckily Kakashi was asleep at the moment. She knew he was tired the moment she had set eyes on him.

It was also a plus that he was asleep, giving her some time to get over her shame. She didn't understand why, when it came to Kakashi, she made a complete fool of herself. As he slept, she was giving herself a continuous pep-talk about being a professional and that Kakashi was like every other patient she had ever treated...except that he was not like everyone else.

Everyone else didn't move in to her apartment and everyone else wasn't her teacher. She let out a long sigh, forcing those thoughts out.

Pushing the chair away from her desk and standing up, she decided it was time to wake him, he needed to eat and they needed to do another treatment.

She picked up the bedpan and external catheter attached to a urine bag that she had gotten from the hospital and headed down the hall.

She decided that starting tomorrow she would do three treatments per day. Looking at the objects in her hands, she knew the faster Kakashi regained mobility, the better. The boundary between them had become a blurred line.

Taking care of Kakashi wasn't going to be a problem for her anymore. After yesterday, she forced herself to get over it, there was no room for strange behaviors. Kakashi had gone through enough and she needed him to trust her and be comfortable around her.

She peeked her head into the darkening room, the sun setting beyond the window painted the sky a pretty shade of pink. Thin strips of what was left of the sun encompassed Kakashi's body.

Walking around the bed to the other side of the room, she cracked the window open to let the soft fall breeze drift in. Turning around, she headed towards the little nightstand next to his bed and turned on the lamp.

The soft glow of the lamp revealed Kakashi to her. She studied him. His body was in its usual stiff position, her eyes traveled up to his face. Expecting to see the normal serene expression on someone who was asleep.

Instead of serenity, Sakura saw pain. His eyebrows were deeply furrowed, the sweat on them glistened with the light. His eyes were clenched shut. She noticed the quick breaths he was letting out as it pushed against the cloth that covered his lower face.

It must be a nightmare.

Sakura gently placed her right hand on his face cradling his cheek in her palm, her thumb gently smoothing over the furrowed eyebrow above his left eye. The painful expression on his face made her heart hurt and she didn't know how to help him.

"Sakura?" whispered Kakashi, stirring from his sleep.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked quietly, her thumb still slowly moving over his eyebrow. She felt his eyebrows lift, the tenseness gone. "It looked like you were having a bad dream."

"Mm, I'm fine." lulled Kakashi, enjoying the comfort Sakura gave him.

"Are you hungry?" inquired Sakura, with a soft smile. She couldn't believe this was Kakashi. He seemed so vulnerable, the way he leaned his cheek into her hand. She watched him slightly nod his head.

"Good, I made your favorite." smiled Sakura.

She left his side and went to the kitchen to bring in the dinner she prepared.

Moments later she came back, showing her impressive balancing skills as she managed to carry a wooden breakfast tray with two bowls and a plate in one hand and dragging in a chair with the other.

She carefully placed the tray on the chair she brought in and went back to Kakashi's side.

She slowly worked her arm behind Kakashi, forcing him to lean forward. She then began piling pillows behind him to help prop him up in a sitting position.

"Thanks." murmured Kakashi, feeling the rumble in his stomach. He hadn't been this hungry in a very long time. Kakashi's canine-like nose knew exactly what Sakura brought in and his mouth was watering.

He felt Sakura place a tray over his lap, one leg on each side of him. The aroma filling his nostrils. It was indeed his favorite.

Sakura finally settled in the chair placed next to his bed.

"Broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant" revealed Sakura, watching Kakashi's nose wiggle slightly under his mask, obviously smelling the food below him.

"It smells delicious." stated Kakashi, "Did you make this?" his eyes turning towards her. He felt touch that Sakura was even aware of what he liked to eat.

"Mmhm," nodded Sakura, "sorry if it's not as good as what you're used to."

"Like I said before, it smells delicious." restated Kakashi. "Thanks." He gave her a genuine, eye-crinkled smile. He had never been this excited to eat.

"No need for _thanks _Kakashi-sensei, you have to eat." smiled Sakura, she was proud of the meal, since this was her first attempt. "Alright let's eat!" cheered Sakura.

She picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a chunk of rice and brought up to Kakashi's covered lips.

"Uh, is it okay if I lift your mask?" asked Sakura, timidly. She always felt some sort of anxiety about his mask, having spent so many years wondering what was under there.

"It's fine. You can take it off, I want to feel the breeze on my face anyways." responded Kakashi.

Did Sakura hear him correctly? Did he just give her the okay to take off his mask? Sakura's mind was perturbed with his consent. She hadn't prepared herself with the idea of seeing his face. Was he always this mellow about showing his face?

She didn't know how to respond to him, only focused on the cloth that hung over the lower part of his face.

"Sakura?" called Kakashi, pulling her out of her shock-state.

Kakashi couldn't help but enjoy her reaction. After all the years of adamantly hiding his face from his student, it was a disappointment that he couldn't see her reaction.

"Sakura?" he called out again.

"Y-yes?" stammered Sakura.

"I'm hungry." announced Kakashi, his eyes crinkling.

"Ah yes! Let me untie this..." said Sakura, almost breathless at the thought of removing his mask.

She stood up and stepped closer towards Kakashi, hesitant to reach for the knot behind his head. Slowly she leaned forward her arms wrapping around his head to reach the knot behind him.

Her face was beside his as she tried to work out the secured knot.

The entire time Kakashi felt her breath tickling his ear, almost sending a chill down his spine.

"There." said Sakura as the fabric dropped down landing on his lap.

Sakura primed herself taking deep breaths as she pulled away with her eyes closed. Her eyes slowly opened and landed onto Kakashi's extremely naked face. She couldn't help but gasp aloud.

And Kakashi couldn't help but smile in response.

Sakura couldn't believe how unimaginably handsome Kakashi was. She finally got to see past that eye crinkled smile and actually see the true smile that was hidden all along.

She studied him intensely.

His lips were pale pink, thin and somehow pouty at the same time. The deep shadow of his philtrum traveled down to his upper lip, the _v_ of his cupid bow was sharp and pointed. The corners of his mouth sloped downwards, making his lips naturally pout even as he smiled baring his straight, white teeth. His bottom lip was slightly fuller than his upper lip and they looked incredibly soft.

Sakura couldn't believe how nice Kakashi's lips were. She never imagined them to look so delicate. It was a nice contrast to his masculine features.

His symmetrical nose was straight and pointed.

Did Sakura's eyes deceive her? Because she never imagined that Hatake Kakashi, the notorious Copy Ninja to have a painfully adorable dimple dented into his left cheek right below the vertical scar on his left eye.

She studied his strong jawline and narrowed chin. A shadow covered his lower face. He had developed a shadowed fuzz of silvery white hair.

She couldn't deny how utterly attractive the man before her was. That head of grey-white hair definitely created the illusion of an older man. Sakura could see the youth in his porcelain skin, the only wrinkle were faint around his mouth, his smile lines.

Kakashi was giving Sasuke a run for his money. She guessed what they say is true, _things do get better with age._

"Sakura-chan, can you feed me now?" pouted Kakashi, smiling inwardly at her stupor. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagine herself in this position, actually seeing her sensei _pouting_ at her and once again Sakura could do nothing but stare at those lips slightly puckered in adorable want.

She gave him a nod, forgetting that he couldn't see. She slowly sat back down into her chair and reached for the chopsticks once again, still unable to take her eyes off his face.

"Sakura, you're making me blush." joked Kakashi, smiling broadly, obviously enjoying the reaction he got from her. Although he couldn't see her, he could feel her penetrating stare.

"Oh. Sorry." she said barely audible. Shaking her head quickly, she grabbed another chunk of rice with the chopsticks and brought it to his mouth. She quickly brought a piece of fish after. She was even mesmerized at the way he chewed his food.

"Mmm" hummed Kakashi, "Sakura this is really good."

"I'm glad you like it." said Sakura, with a gentle smile, now enjoying the way his pinkish lips pursed together to make the 'mmm' sound. This was amazing. All those years waiting and now here she was with Kakashi mask-less.

"So why do you hide your face?" asked Sakura, never taking her eyes off of him, as she continued to feed him.

"Can I have some miso?" he asked, ignoring her question. At the moment he concentrated in satiating his hunger.

Sakura brought the bowl of miso to his lips still staring at the way his mouth moved.

"Why do you wear a mask Kakashi-sensei? It makes no sense." reiterated Sakura, still curious. She kind of understood why. Just look at the guy. This explains so much. His looks would distract and attract anyone in a ten mile radius, she was sure.

Kakashi finally swallowed a gulp of miso soup. "Ah." he chimed, opening his mouth, hinting that he wanted more food.

Sakura rolled her eyes, he was so childish at times. He was bluntly ignoring her question. It was difficult for her to fight the smile on her face. He seemed so carefree at the moment, he hadn't been like this in a long while and Sakura was happy to be the one to witness it.

"Fine." grumbled Sakura, bringing more food to his mouth.

They both continued in silence.

Sakura took advantage of the moment and just watched him. Watched his dimple come and go with every smile. The way the muscles in his jaw tensed while he chewed.

She knew she shouldn't stare this much. She knew she must look like a total idiot at the moment gawking at him like this, but hey, he couldn't see her.

_Naruto and Sasuke are going to be so jealous_, she boasted within.

Kakashi finally drained the miso soup in its entirety. He let out a sigh, if he could he would pat his stomach in satisfaction. He hadn't had a good meal like that in awhile. No more depressing hospital food!

"Sakura-chan, that was amazing." he beamed, "I didn't know you were such a good cook."

Grinning happily, Sakura lifted the tiny table and placed it on the broad windowsill. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

She hadn't felt this good in a while. She wanted to throw a huge party to celebrate the fact that she finally saw Kakashi's face. She could die in peace now.

Her eyes drifted to the bedpan and catheter. She couldn't believe she forgot about that. He hadn't gone to the bathroom since he'd been here.

"Sensei? Do you need to go?" asked Sakura, firmly pushing down her timidity.

"Hm, now that you mention it. I do." he answered, thoughtfully.

"One or two?" she asked, bringing the two devices to him.

"One."

Sakura nodded to herself. "We're going to use an external catheter. I'm going to have to attach the urine bag to you with a condom type thing, so you'll be able to go whenever you need to."

She continued, "If you need to have a bowel movement, you're going to have to call me to help." She was doing a good job at keeping any uncomfortable feelings or thoughts away. She saw Kakashi giving a slight nod, but she didn't miss the slight frown gracing his lips.

_Be a professional all the way through Sakura!_ She thought.

"It's either this or diapers." teased Sakura. She knew he would see the positives of a bedpan and catheter than wearing a diaper all day.

Since there was no objection, she carefully pulled the covers aside and cautiously pushed down his pants. She disconnected the condom from the tubing and carefully weaved the tube under his briefs until she could see it poke out through the hole in the middle.

Then she carefully pulled down his underwear exposing him. She carefully brought the condom and positioned the tip of his penis into the condom. Rolling it down the shaft, she carefully pressed the edge to secure the seal to prevent any leakage.

She carefully connected the tube. She cautiously pulled his underwear back up making sure everything stayed connected. Once that was done, she released the breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

"There." she said calmly. "I'm going to tape down the small bag to your leg so it won't move around." Reaching over to the nightstand, she opened the drawer and grabbed the tape she had placed in there earlier with other medical supplies and she began securing the bag onto his right leg.

"Okay, you can go now if you want." Sakura could see that he was holding back. "Let me give you some privacy, holler when you're done." she added, quickly leaving the room.

* * *

Kakashi sighed. Dinner was so good. He was full and the pain in his eye had subsided for now. The night was going so well.

He had forgotten about normal body function like pissing and shitting. He guessed he should appreciate the fact that Sakura offered a bedpan instead of diapers. Shitting on yourself did not sound ideal.

He was astonished at the 180 Sakura did. She was so professional about everything. He was glad she was feeling at ease with him, though he couldn't deny missing the way she stuttered skittishly.

He finally relaxed his muscle and let himself urinate. Even though these medical devices were pure genius, he couldn't help but hope that he could regain movement soon, even if it was just his arms.

He could do a lot of things with his arms. If he could bear his entire body weight with just his arms, it'd be easy to lift himself onto the toilet. He vowed to not ever have a bowel movement, never. Not until he could use his arms.

"I'm done." Kakashi called out.

He heard Sakura step back in, walking around the bed to his right.

"Let me pull up your pants." she said, still as professional as ever. She was proud of herself.

_That's right Haruno Sakura wasn't going to make a fool of herself ever again, mainly not in front of Kakashi-sensei,_ she thought,silently patting herself on the back.

"Do you have something more loose?" he requested. The long sleeve jounin shirt and pants felt too thick, he was suffocating in them.

"I'm glad you asked, I went out and bought you brand new pajamas." She went to the dresser facing the bed and pulled out a pair of black cotton pajamas with thin white stripes running vertically all over.

Kakashi felt her drop the pajamas next to him as she began to work his pants of his legs. He could hear her throw it on the floor somewhere with a flop. She moved up the bed and grabbed the bottom of a sleeve and tugged at it while maneuvering his arm out and she did the same with the other.

They both remained silent.

Gently she pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it aside.

Sakura was mesmerized by Kakashi. She knew these thoughts shouldn't be popping in her mind.

_Pfft... _she scoffed internally _It's not like you haven't been drooling over him anyway._ She fought hard to push away those thoughts.

But how could she? Not only did he look good in his underwear, he wasn't wearing his mask on top of it all. If she didn't take the time to enjoy this, who knew when she'd be able to his face again.

Anyone would be crazy to turn away from this scene. It should be a sin to be this good-looking.

Sakura wasn't sure how she felt about the feeling his body elicited from her. She really doubted the feeling was sexual, it was pure wonderment.

She allowed her eyes to travel down his lithe, toned body one last time before she grabbed the new set of pajamas.

The new shirt was draped over his bare shoulder. She carefully worked his arms in and began to button up the shirt starting from the top. Her eyes following her fingers closely.

When did buttoning someone's shirt up become so erotic? Sakura needed to stop using words like _erotic_ to describe anything that had to do with Kakashi. She didn't have a clue where her thoughts were taking her.

Taking the pants she carefully placed his legs in each hole and began to pull them up his body.

"Better?" she probed, fixing the elastic waistband.

"Yes, much better." confirmed Kakashi, enjoying the airiness of the material.

"I guess we've wasted enough time, let's start." she smiled. Sakura could see why Kakashi liked black, she never noticed before, but black really looked good on him. The pure contrast with his hair and skin made him look even more handsome.

She grinned to herself, she doubted he chose black because he looked good in it.

Kakashi perked up at the idea of maybe regaining even more movement.

Kakashi felt the mattress dip down under her weight, opposite of him, as she climbed on. He felt her settle next to him on his left side.

Reaching over him to grab his other shoulder, she pulled him forward to remove most of the pillows behind him so he would be flat on his back.

She positioned herself on her knees next to his head.

"Let's begin where we left off yesterday" informed Sakura. This was a job now. She already had enough time appreciating all that made him him. She could do that more later.

"Mm." sounded Kakashi, quietly anticipating.

Sakura, once again, leaned forward towards Kakashi. She rested her elbow on her knee to help support her arm for the long hour ahead.

This time she planned to use both hands to gain more control over her chakra.

Kakashi slid his right eye shut, leaving his left open. He felt Sakura's hands hover over him. He could hear Sakura's even breath as she concentrated. Her chakra slowly seeped into his eye.

A deep sigh escaped Kakashi's lip at the sensation her chakra gave him. Once again, her cool, even chakra provided relief to his eye. It felt like cool water soothing a burn.

"Sensei, starting tomorrow, we will begin to do this three times a day. Probably after each meal." disclosed Sakura, breaking the silence.

"I'm up for it." he agreed.

"I'm hoping to complete one more pathway after this one." informed Sakura, still deep in concentration.

"Won't that take to much for you?" queried Kakashi, he remembered how exhausted she was yesterday and that was only half.

"Don't worry about me Kakashi-sensei! I'm not where I am today if I could tire that easy. You should know that." bragged Sakura, smiling at his concerns.

"Okay..." replied Kakashi, he wasn't sure why, but he didn't believe her.

"Any headaches today?" she inquired, trying to break the silence.

"Not a big one, it's more of a dull constant ache." he quietly replied.

"Let's hope this will help put a stop to that." said Sakura. She focused harder at the task at hand, wanting to get through this pathway, so she could start on the next one. She wanted to do everything she could to help him.

They shared another quiet moment together as she continued to work.

Kakashi laid there, not really thinking about anything in particular. Her shampoo filled his nostrils, grateful it was her normal scent. He always enjoyed the way Sakura smelled. Even when she wore perfume, it never concealed the smell of fresh strawberries. So fitting for a girl with pink hair.

The smell triggered thoughts of his faithful companions, especially the one who shared the same scent.

Hmmm.. Now to mention it, when was the last time he had seen Pakkun?

He was going to have to summon his canine companions one of these days.

Sakura knew she shouldn't over do it. This was going to take a lot out of her, but she was determined. She had wasted tons of precious time today and she wanted to make up for that.

Instead of gossiping with Ino and secretly checking out Kakashi, she should've been getting him better. There was nothing that could veer her determination at the moment.

Though determined, she could already feel the stings of fatigue traveling down her body, thirty minutes hadn't even passed yet.

His Sharingan was in terrible shape, it's chakra pathway was decorated from old and new injuries. Some of the older ones took more chakra to heal. Sakura was amazed Kakashi was able to use this eye for so long.

She creased her brows, focused.

* * *

It's been a little over an hour now and Sakura was still at it. She hadn't budge from her position next to him.

Kakashi felt Sakura's chakra fluctuate within him, it wasn't normally like this. Her chakra control had always been evenly distributed, nice and steady, even when she was tired.

"Sakura?" called Kakashi. No reply, her hands continued to pour in her chakra. "Sakura? Are you okay?" he called out again.

Suddenly her chakra stopped and with a soft thud, her body over next to him. Her head was above his, her cheek gently rested on top of his head,

Kakashi felt his hair blowing along with each heavy breath she released.

Her arm fell carelessly around his neck pulling him taut against her chest, resting perfectly between her breasts. Kakashi couldn't do a thing about it. She had his head in a death grip and his left eye was comfortably covered with one breast.

She was passed out.


End file.
